cable car

Summer ’25: V – Dali

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Dali Lannatai Coffee Cute Pet Hotel [大理兰纳泰式咖啡萌宠美宿] located on人民路下段东玉街51号 has a rather girthy name. Coffee and pets. What more do you need?! Turned out to be such a cosy place that we stayed twice – and even extended the second stay for a few nights. It did help that our Mancunian Panda teddy was left behind on the first stay. A rescue mission return was required.

A steep cable car up Cangshan took us close to the highest summit. At the top end, Ganton ropeway has paths leading to a lake view at Ximatan (3920m up) and many, many stairs. The cloud cover, damp, thinner air, and gentle breezy movement made walking a tad slippy but doable. Dali-Cangshan UNESCO Global Geopark is gorgeous but treacherous at parts. Steep rocks, sudden drops, and streams slice through the vast landscape offering ample opportunities to test gravity.

The ancient old town of Dali dispersed with its modernity amongst many nooks and crannies is quaint and wild. Party life sits alongside the classic. It feels freer than most Chinese cities and towns. It howls and it barks. Yet, with hotels that have star-gazing rooftops and hidden parks with orange-bellied Hiamalyan squirrels chewing on dropped nuts, the old and new work well together. Its cosmopolitan heartbeat is loud and quiet at the same time. There’s adventure outside the walls and discovery within. Cafes, artists, independent dealers of novel fashion, and mass-produced and much-copied formulas work for space. This synergy is harmony in action. Yet, even having visited in 2021, I could sense that in 2025, the growth and change of Dali was unsustainable and yet another characterless city will emerge. I hope I am wrong!

The amount of disposable oxygen canisters for sale on the ropeway concourse and single-use rain jackets, hoods, hats and more is worrying. Yes, oxygen may be needed but surely adapting and slowing your wandering is much more sensible. Altitude is not to be played with and rising a kilometre in Yunnan can be fatal if rushed. Any dizziness, lightheaded feelings etc can be alarm bells. Take it at a more gentle pace and don’t race to the top. Or not: just buy oxygen canisters.

I can understand hiring big waterproof rain and winter jackets but far too much has been geared for waste. Nature needs harmony and help. The litter levels were low on the pathways at the top but it was clear that far too many people ignore waste bins. This is a global problem. Not just China. Not just Manchester. Scenic streams and lakes need that crispness and freshness that only Mother Nature can bring. We must reconnect to the air, water, and plants that bring us so much comfort and essential conditioning for life. With that the air around Dali and Cangshan is lush and comfortable. Next, Shangri-la calls once again.

Yunnan, of course, was great for fruits. The fertile soils and close proximity of Vietnam and other nations (for swift importing) gave numerous chances to try new fruits. Nothing stood out. Apart from local blueberries and raspberries. The sharp Salak or snake fruit wasn’t that tasty. Nor a fruit that looked like a purple banana. God bless the Silk Road.

The Bear Necessities

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Bern, baby Bern. What a glorious city with the river Aare horseshoe-shaped around the glorious Altstadt. The capital of Bern is as green as it is old-carved rocks. Sweeping views from the Bundehaus parliament buildings look out onto the distant Swiss Alps. Autumn leaves fall and mingle with stray butterflies, whilst the odd buzz of a bee makes a passerby question the seasons.

Starting with a walk from Newton Heath to Manchester at an ungodly hour, a steady train to Manchester Airport led to a wander to terminal three. Here, Ryanair had more priority boarding passengers than regular folk. A swift 7am flight to Cologne and Bonn Airport preceded a quick train to Köln, long before lunchtime. After an expansive and expensive salad, the train to Basel SBB station in Switzerland was equally hurried. The most part of the journey on flat land with the Rhein river close by and the foothills of the Black Forest gateaux mountains to the east.

Arriving at Bern for teatime meant a long day. Checking into the cosy Hostel 77, it would have been rude not to wander around the darkened old town in the evening. Spying a light show on the Bundeshaus parliament frontage and Manchester City’s travelling coaches were pleasant experiences but the haunting bells of

Outside of wanders around the UNESCO heritage medieval covered shops and fountains along the streets, a trip out of town by train to Thun was on the cards. The 101/100 zone tourist ticket covered two zones. A further 28 Swiss Francs covered the 6 zones of the journey. Within 30 minutes, it was possible to visit Thun and see the castle, many great Alpine mountain peaks, and the Eiger (from a distance). As a child seeing George Lazenby star as spy-womaniser James Bond, 007, the scenes from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service looked breathtaking. From a distance, I could imagine scenes from Ian Fleming’s text and varied Bond movies.

On my pocket, Anthony Horowitz’s With A Mind To Kill, didn’t get any reading time. The views from Thun and the exhibition of Manchester City’s under-19 team in the UEFA Youth League playing at the Stockhorn Arena was enough entertainment. The 10,000-seater stadium was about 8% full. Maybe 9%. I’m sure a statistician would question my maths. The four goals for City were as majestic as the surrounding views, and the Stockhornbahn AG-sponsored stadium was atmospheric. The young crowd enthusiastically cheering on both City and the hosts BSC Young Boys.

As Mike Summerbee and Nedum Onuoha, amongst others, watched on, the view of the Eiger and surrounds featured rainbows (perhaps Switzerland has pots of gold), clouds and glorious sunshine. The stadium is named after a cable car company named after a mountain and Fussballclub Thun 1898, who operate the stadium and put on a good show. Free entrance. Much needed.

The trip was, of course, to see Manchester City grace the hallowed AstroTurf of BSC Young Boys at the Wankdorf Stadium. The game was a bash. Manager Pep Guardiola shuffled his hand on the ground built over a Co-Op supermarket and a plethora of shops. The blue and whites made to work hard for their win left with three Champions League points and probably a few AstroTurf grazes. I don’t miss those days!

The joy of the light show at the Bundeshaus, a wander (or two) in Köln, a quick walk to the Wasserturm in Mannheim, and all the bits in between lasted from Tuesday to Thursday. So much to do. So much to see. So little time. Treasure life. Peace and love.

Sir Richard Branson: bastard or not?

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你好 (nĭ hăo) / Namaste / Welcome!

Sir Richard Branson, Nelson Mandela and Bernard Manning walk into a bar…

“One of the most inspiring men I have ever met and had the honour to call my friend.” – Richard Branson on Nelson Mandela.

Sir Richard Branson may have won the prize of: Proper knobhead of the week. This is a man who has just asked for a bailout by the treasury. Anything wrong with that? Virgin Group, founded in 1970, have contributed greatly to British capitalist society and employed many, many people over the years. I’m still bitter about losing my Virgin Megastore gift vouchers (by then known as Zavvi) in 2008. Okay, so it was the management buy-out group that made the store sink fast, but I still believe Virgin did the damage. Virgin Care settled a claim against NHS Surrey – which was scandalous and just adds to their weighted presence in public healthcare. How much of the NHS money was used to fight a battle against dark enterprise? Too much.

In 1971, he did time behind bars for tax evasion. A spot of fraud helped him along with his fledgling empire. Okay, that’s ancient news. It happens amongst British complex laws and taxes. Forgivable. He paid his fines and did his time. But, since then offshore trusts and companies have become the norm. Paying tax to the U.K. treasury has not. This self-described tax exile has made millions from the U.K., yet is now a citizen of the British Virgin Islands (which came first the decision to live there or the Virgin Records store?). All this came long before Sir Richard became accused of sexual assault. Will he star on the #METOO movement soon?

69-year-old Sir Richard Branson is worth shitloads. Some say about 4 billion U.S. dollars. That’s about 70USD for every UK citizen. His political leanings are mixed. He endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. He’s the son of Eve Branson (a Child welfare advocate) and Edward Branson. Sir Rich Branson has a sister who owns the Scottish island of Eilean Shona. The author J.M. Barrie wrote Peter Pan here. Privilege and humanity have surrounded his family’s rise for decades on end. However, he has a history of promoting SeaWorld.

The world is not black and white, even racist comedian Bernard Manning had The Beatles at his Embassy Club early on. A man who guarded Nazi war criminals ahead of their trials had lived in a different time and displayed his talents in the most unacceptable ways. A complex and tough life intertwined with a mix of smoke and daggers. Sir Richard Branson, however, paints himself more as a white knight. A keeper of values. Perhaps from his Necker Island home, owned by Virgin Limited Edition, he had a natter on WhatsApp with Airbus (a fleet of aircraft are on order), Rolls-Royce (a company with origins in Manchester who now make the engines for Airbus), and a few airports (who need airlines). Then he picked up his pen, crossed some teas and scribed his name. “Dear Transport Secretary Grant Shapps…” grovel, beg, plea, cringe, know-tow, fawn, creepy-creepy crawling words, kneeling, stooping words, and a spot of demeaning of ourselves. Did they bow and scrape humbly? “Oh, and hey, we want to build a cable car to France and back (for a premium).”

Sir Richard Branson has done amazing things over the years. But, with petitions against him receiving winter fuel payments, even if he gave it to charity, he’s not shy of controversy. Virgin Atlantic staff have been placed on eight weeks of leave. Some have been lucky and found work with the side of the angels – the NHS! There’s always hope…